\part 3 \here we go again
Left Copenhagen the evening of September 17th on a sea of glass which has continued throughout the voyage so far. First full day was at sea, from which we'd learned in the past is a great way to just relax. My own day consisted of breakfast followed by a nap followed by lunch, then a nap, and finally dinner in the 'anytime' dining room, followed by early to bed. Catching up on sleep from the flights to Copenhagen and our days walking around that charming city, I guess.
Docked early yesterday morning in Dover in front of the white chalk cliffs and a white lighthouse—and tons of other ships and ferries. Our cousins Bea & Jon met us at the terminal, and off we went to the nearest McDonald's. Did you know that WiFi is free at all McDonald's in Europe? What a plus! Logged in from the parking lot long enough to at least delete all the advertising and 'register' all the spam, with only a minute to write a couple of lines to answer what messages were there.
One of our favorite things to do with Bea & Jon is to go to a tea shop; they've taken us to the most marvelous ones. This morning we had to try three of them to find one that was open, this one in St. Margaret's. Turned out to be close by to the home of Noel Coward, and the shop had attached to it a small museum dedicated to Coward as well as two other small rooms, one about Ian Fleming and his 'James Bond' novels, the other about the laying of the first underwater cable from England to the continent. Interesting—and the tea was lovely! We gave Jon a bottle of wine for him and Bea to celebrate Jon's 80th birthday which was on August 6.
From here we went to Deal to wait for lunch at a favorite restaurant of theirs, on the ocean front facing the beach, with tons of flowers—geraniums and petunias in so many different colors—immediately in front of the restaurant as well as across the street around a small traffic circle. Easy to picture Victorian England or Miss Marple. As there was a function going on in the main part of the restaurant, we had a wait of about an hour during which time we went browsing, particularly into a thrift shop next to the car park where they raise funds for animal care. Lots of fun! Bought a vintage—but brand new—canister of dusting powder that'll look great in our guest washroom in Florida—and a set of three sachet holders in the shape of different Victorian cottages that Bea fell in love with which we quietly left in the car for them later, as we knew she would not otherwise accept it. Each cost 50p (about a dollar).
Lunch was excellent: toasted goat cheese with salad, poached plaice (a flounder-type flat fish that we seen to find only in England) with veggies, and a decadent chocolate dessert that Susan and I shared. All we seem to do with Bea & Jon is laugh a lot, and during lunch was no exception. The waiter, who knew them from past visits, seemed to eye me a little suspiciously. . . . Tried to get the bill from him but he refused. Drat! Drove from the restaurant a short distance out of the hustle and bustle of town to a parking area on the beach, from which we took a walk on a paved path and sat on a bench in the sun just chatting and taking in the view of the ocean. A group—obviously a tour—passed us; we asked where they were from, and they turned out to be from the 'Marco Polo,' a small ship docked next to our enormous Crown Princess looking as though it could be our lifeboat (slight exaggeration . . .).
It was then time to head back to our ship, wondering how eight hours had passed so quickly. Must have been all that laughter! Got back aboard, met up with our travel buddy Bob, grazed through dinner rather than a full dinner, and went to the pizza bar for 'dessert.' Will have to say that the pizza is just about the best food available on the whole ship! They make it fresh right in front of you, and evidently they are starting with fresh ingredients. After dinner Bob went to work, Susan decided to stay on the upper deck to watch a movie on a huge screen above the pool, and I went to sleep—for a change. Almost feels as though I catch up on a year's worth of missing sleep on each cruise we take. And today is another sea day with an itinerary of goodies to do. Whew! Will pass on napkin folding and scarf tying, though. . . .
HB and Sid
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